An Oireachtas Committee has heard that an €81,000 pay hike for the new Secretary General of the Department of Health is "outrageous" and "astronomical".
The position has been advertised with a salary of €292,000, which is up from the current level of €211,000.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath told the Oireachtas Finance Committee that he sanctioned the salary increase as he believed €292,000 was commensurate with the scale of the responsibilities, particularly during a global pandemic.
He said the figure was agreed in consultation with Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and Secretary General to the Government Martin Fraser.
He said that there was a need for an enhanced salary to attract the very best candidates from around the world.
Sinn Féin public expenditure spokesperson Mairead Farrell said there was no explanation for the "astronomical" increase and she asked where the figure was plucked from.
Mr McGrath said there was an element of judgement involved, but if the performance of the department was enhanced, then the money would be worth it.
He said he looked at other senior roles across the public service and considered that there were bespoke arrangements put in place for the Garda Commissioner, the HSE CEO and the Governor of the Central Bank.
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said people's jaws dropped when they saw the salary.
He compared it with the WHO Director General, who is paid less than €200,000, and the UK's Health Secretary, who is paid €150,000.
Solidarity TD Mick Barry said it was outrageous. He said nurses were getting a 1% pay increase while this position was getting a 40% pay increase.
Minister McGrath also said he did not believe that the pay rise would have a knock-on effect for public service pay, as he did not believe that there were comparable positions.
Mr Barry disagreed and said pay increases would follow "as night follows day".
Senator Alice-Mary Higgins said the HSE CEO salary was now being used to justify the salary for the new head of the Department of Health, adding that the knock-on effect was already happening.
A former secretary general at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), Robert Watt, has been moved to the Department of Health on a temporary basis as Acting Secretary General.
He is being paid his existing salary.
DPER has said that Mr Watt had no input into the sanctioning of the terms and conditions of the competition, including the €292,000 salary.
Under questioning from Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty, Minister McGrath confirmed that the salary increase was not disclosed when the position was discussed at Cabinet.
He said the Taoisaech outlined that the job would come with an enhanced package, but he said the specific salary level was not mentioned.
Mr Doherty said there was no benchmarking and no discussion with recruiters.
Mr McGrath said Mr Watt had an earlier operational involvement with the discussion around a new secretary general at the Department of Health, but did not deal with salary.
Mr McGrath said that at the decision point on the salary, he dealt directly with the secretary general of the Government.
Mr Doherty asked why Mr Watt was not asked to move permanently to the position, as that might not have led to a salary increase.
Mr McGrath said the view was taken that it was important to open up the position to a competitive process.
